30 October 2014

From Thursday 30th October until
Saturday 8th November, a variety of festivities to celebrate Asian Art in London will take place at different locations. Over sixty of the world’s top dealers, major auction houses and museums will be taking part in this prestigious ten day event which attracts prime collectors to the capital. Grays is a destination where you will find a treasure trove of Asian art all year round.

A superb collection of Asian art is housed in Grays by our dealers, in the form of ceramic, bronze, stone, glass and textile, to name but a few, the majority of which can be found in the Grays mews.

23 October 2014

20 years on we are still proud to have "Wheels of Steel" in the mews building at Grays Antique Centre. In fact, Jeff Williams' business is the only model train shop left in London, which makes his shop even more interesting and unique. After an 18 year career in motor racing - Jeff is the only model train dealer to have raced with Ayrton Senna and Nigel Mansell! - his growing interest in German Marklin model trains led him to open "Wheels of Steel", initially on the lower-ground floor in Grays, now up on the ground floor. He deals in all makes and gauges of model trains, which range from over 100 years old to contemporary styles and is a regular at all of the biggest toy fairs around the South-East. He stocks all of the most popular brands, such as; Hornby, Bachmann, Graham Farish, Marklin, Bassett-Lowke, Roco, Lionel, Wrenn, Dubco, Fleishmann, Kato, etc.

You can find Jeff at "Wheels of Steel", stand G12, on the ground floor of the mews at Grays.

17 October 2014

MOIRA Fine Jewellery joined us in Grays Antique Market in October 2014 with their collection of rare jewellery, renowned worldwide for its elegance and exclusivity of design. They bring over 40 years of knowledge and expertise for sourcing the most exquisite collectables in fine jewellery. The range of fine antique jewellery spans nineteenth century signed originals from the finest design houses, the Art Deco period, 1940s gold work, to the modernist creations of the 1950s to the 1980s. Their modern jewellery complements the vintage range, to satisfy the desire for unique and truly individual pieces. They also have one of the largest signed antique and vintage cufflink collections in London.

Moira, her daughter Suzanne and son Simon, have built the beautiful collection of antique jewellery with regular trips to the USA - Florida, New York, Las Vegas, Los Angeles; the Far East - Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore and Europe. Suzanne and Simon are continuing the tradition of showing the fine collections in international antiques fairs, including the Olympia and LAPADA shows.

MOIRA Fine Jewellery add Grays prestigious location alongside their residency at Richard Ogden in the Burlington Arcade, where their primary collection can be viewed.

A diamond ring, mounted in platinum, set with a 5.02ct, H colour SI1 clarity, cushion-cut diamond, with round brilliant-cut diamonds micro pavé set in the gallery, surround and shoulders. This ring is accompanied by a GIA certificate. Offered by MOIRA Fine Jewellery

A diamond line bracelet, by Cartier, mounted in platinum, channel set with French-cut diamonds. Circa 1936. Offered by MOIRA Fine Jewellery

A Cartier knot dress set, mounted in 18ct gold consisting of a pair of cufflinks and three buttons. Offered by MOIRA Fine Jewellery

A platinum art deco ring mount, set with a new 1.01ct F VS1 emerald-cut diamond, accompanied by a GIA certificate, the shoulders are set with baguette-cut diamonds and with small round diamonds, in tear drop shaped settings at the ends, the approximate total weight of the shoulder stones is 0.40ct. Offered by MOIRA Fine Jewellery

A vintage diamond ring, mounted in platinum, set with a 1.01ct E colour VS2 clarity oval-cut diamond, with two eight-cut diamonds each side, the first in a marquise shaped setting, the second in a round setting. Accompanied by a GIA certificate.Offered by MOIRA Fine Jewellery

10 October 2014

September saw the opening of the first museum of Islamic art
in North America. It’s the Aga Khan Museum in Toronto with a collection of over
one thousand artefacts in ceramic, metalwork, stone and wood, textile and
carpet, glass and rock crystal objects, parchment and illustrated paintings on
paper. The Museum’s goal is to demystify Islam through increasing knowledge and
appreciation of Islamic art by presenting an overview of the artistic
accomplishments of Muslim civilisations from the Iberian Peninsula to China.

The Islamic period began with the rapid rise of Islam in the
7th century AD. The religion's founder, the Prophet Muhammad, was a political
leader as well as a religious guide. By 750, his successors had established a
vast empire which stretched from Spain and Morocco in the west to Central Asia
and Afghanistan in the east.

Closer to home in London, at the V&A Museum, the JameelGallery, houses 400 objects including
ceramics, textiles, carpets, metalwork, glass and woodwork. The collection
explains the development of Islamic art production from the great dates of the
Islamic caliphate of the 8th century up to the First World War.
Geographically, it covers an area from Spain to Uzbekistan. The V&A holds more than 19,000 objects
ranging from the early Islamic Period to the 1920s, from Iran, Turkey, Iraq,
Syria, Egypt, and the countries of North Africa and has a ceramic collection
which is internationally the most important and comprehensive of its kind.

Islamic art is at the forefront of the origins of nineteenth
century English decorative arts. In Victorian Britain, retailers sold a range
of goods imported from the Islamic world providing a source of inspiration for
art work that was seeking to break away from the historic European styles
dominating British art at the time. William Morris and the Arts and Crafts Movement were greatly influenced by Islamic designers because they were
particularly expert at producing surface patterns. Colour and form were to be
placed above any type of realism.

With its approach to flat surfaces and use of colour
schemes, the Movement had a great appeal across the disciplines. Many saw that
the principles behind the Islamic decorative arts system was an effective way
of producing contemporary pattern work, because Islamic designers seemed to
have an innate understanding of the materials used and the medium of surface
decoration, and approach to colour and tone.

Ultimately, it was the non-representational, flat and
graphic aspect of Islamic art that captivated the Victorian vanguard and was
developed on printed textiles, woven carpets, wallpaper design and ceramic tile
work. This perspective on the decorative arts took on an aspect that eventually
proved to be amongst the building blocks of Modernism.

Islamic art at Grays is varied in terms of geographic origins
and covers most areas of material production from textiles to wood, glass to
metal and most areas of artistic expression, books, paintings, coins,
jewellery, tiles and sculpture, and more.

3 October 2014

In the middle ages opal was considered good luck; it was thought the various colours represented the virtues of other gemstones. To the Romans, it was considered to be a token of hope and purity. It was also referred to as the “Cupid Stone” because it suggested the clear complexion of the god of love.

A novel published in 1829 by Sir Walter Scott entitled "Anne of Geierstein," was to change people's perception of opal. In the novel it is worn as a talisman - with supernatural powers - by the Baroness of Arnheim. However, when holy water comes in contact with the opal, it becomes colourless and the Baroness dies soon thereafter.

Regardless of the connotations applied to opal, there's no denying it's one of the most fascinating and beautiful stones in the world.

Tourmaline comes from the Sinhalese word "Turmali" and roughly translates to 'stone with mixed colours'. Due to the wide variety of colours available it is known as 'the gemstone of the rainbow'. Tourmaline is the gemstone of love and of friendship, and is said to render them firm and long-lasting.

The ability of this stone to look like other gemstones has been known to cause some confusion. Many gemstones in the Russian Crown jewels from the 17th Century once thought to be rubies are in fact tourmalines. In South America, where the majority of such gem-quality material is
found, green tourmaline is still referred to as the "Brazilian emerald".

Here's a round-up of the exquisite tourmaline and opal jewellery offered by Grays dealers...